Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- n. The part or interest of a deceased man's real estate allotted by law to his widow for her lifetime. Also called dowry.
- n. See dowry.
- n. A natural endowment or gift; a dowry.
- transitive v. To give a dower to; endow.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- n. that part of a deceased's property provided to his widow
- n. property given by a man to his wife at marriage.
- n. dowry
- v. to give a dower or dowry
- v. to endow
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
- n. That with which one is gifted or endowed; endowment; gift.
- n. The property with which a woman is endowed.
- n. That which a woman brings to a husband in marriage; dowry.
- n. That portion of the real estate of a man which his widow enjoys during her life, or to which a woman is entitled after the death of her husband.
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. See dougher.
- n. The property which a woman brings to her husband at marriage; dowry.
- n. In law, the portion which the law allows to a widow for her life out of the real property in which her deceased husband held an estate of inheritance.
- n. One's portion of natural gifts; personal endowment.
- To furnish with dower; portion; endow.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- v. furnish with an endowment
- n. money or property brought by a woman to her husband at marriage
- n. a life estate to which a wife is entitled on the death of her husband
Etymologies
Examples
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A married woman may bar her Release of right of dower in land conveyed by her husband or by operation dower° of law by joining in, the deed conveying the land or by releasing the land by a subsequent deed executed either separately or jointly with her husband.
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There were what they called dower rights in the age, and the people who want to sentimentalize this will say, Well, there was no reason for Shakespeare or the lawyer to write anything in because everyone understood that she ` d have these dower rights, as his surviving wife.
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When Nur al-Din heard such demand he said, What manner of dower is this thou wouldst impose upon my son?
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General Smith faid that the widow of the Black Prince had a dower from the Dutchy of Cornwall.
The Parliamentary Register: Or an Impartial Report of the Debates that Have Occured in the Two ...
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Fare we forth for the land of Irak and wander over the world, so haply we may win dower and marriage portion, and we may seek and enjoy our cousins’ kisses and embraces when we come back.
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Women participated in the transmission of wealth mostly through marriage rather than through working, and the dower was their social security.
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The story that Mohammad immediately on Kinána's execution sent for her and cast his mantle over her, signifying that she was to be his own, and consummated his marriage with her, and that her dower was her freedom (_vide_ Muir, _ibid_, pp. 68-69), is not genuine and authentic.
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The dower is the price originally agreed upon with the father; and if it has been already paid (which it seldom is), she has no further claim upon the husband, though put away without sufficient ground.
An Account of Timbuctoo and Housa Territories in the Interior of Africa
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'Mehr' is the amount the man agrees as the woman's dower, which is payable immediately, but if deferred is compulsory payment in his lifetime.
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If she died, the husband still possessed the right to the rents and profits of all her realty for the rest of his life, while at his death she received only a child's part of his personalty and a life right, called a dower, in only one-third of his realty, and for a long time under North Carolina law she could be deprived of even this, for, if he chose, he could sell his realty without her consent and deprive her of dower.
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